Cheers
by ChidoriQueen
Summary: After being forced to go to prom with the king of arrogant pricks and attend a wild after-party, Arturia Pendragon is just about ready to jump out of a window. Which is basically what she does, except with the assistance of her sort of male friend Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and a rope fashioned out of Kirei Kotomine's dirty boxers. But will it be enough to save the night? AU


Arturia Pendragon gripped her glass of water so hard that her knuckles turned white, smiling awkwardly as chaos unfolded right before her very eyes- at least two hundred of her classmates packed into a single house, dancing wildly to some obnoxious pop song, blasting confetti guns into the air with migraine-inducing bangs, and playing drinking games with the beer that someone had somehow gotten their hands on.

She wished that she were anywhere but there- attending an after-prom in the mansion that belonged to the ridiculously wealthy Kirei Kotomine (whose house had been chosen solely for the reason that his parents never seemed to be home), with the king of arrogant pricks as her date.

And at that moment, Arturia knew that she wanted out. She had spent half of the evening avoiding him, trying to blend into the sweaty masses of her mostly-drunk peers. It was getting increasingly unpleasant, and the one thing she wanted most in the world was to leave this insane party. The crazy, wild lifestyle really wasn't for her.

She shoved her way through the crowd, occasionally stumbling in the clunky white heels her mother had meticulously picked out for her after finding out that her usually unsociable daughter had somehow gotten herself a date.

After spotting the door from her spot several yards away, she put on a burst of speed, but before she could go any further, she ran into something that felt like a refrigerator.

A blonde, suit-donning bastard of a refrigerator, to be exact. She did her best to hide her scowl as she, as politely as possible, forced out through gritted teeth, "Hey, Gil."

"Oh, come on, is that all I get?" Gilgamesh grinned as he lifted his can of beer to her, downing it before frowning patronizingly at her. "Have you been running away from me?"

Arturia bit back a sarcastic retort, fibbing, "Well, I'm kind of tired. You know, studying for exams and all. My mom's picking me up in about five minutes, so if you'll excu-"

"Nothing to worry about, Artie," he interrupted her heartily, slinging a heavy arm around her shoulder. "She told me that she was dropping by at 12:30, so we have plenty of time! She seems to like me a lot, y'know."

"Oh, that's…nice." She was more disturbed by her new pet name than the fact that her mother was in regular correspondence with the douchebag.

"Why don't you lighten up a bit? We're here to have fun, aren't we?" Gilgamesh grabbed her chin, pulling her closer so that their faces were barely inches away and she could smell the alcohol in his breath.

"Well, I guess I'll stay a bit." Arturia feigned reluctance as she pushed him away from him, stumbling backwards before regaining her balance. She hurriedly surveyed the surrounding area, looking for means of escape before spotting the spiral staircase. "I have to go to the bathroom, so...see you later!"

Before he could protest, she dashed up the stairs, hiking up the hem of her lavender-hued dress, breathing heavily. The second floor was nearly deserted, its crimson-carpeted floors free of confetti or any other sign that anyone had been there recently. She swept her gaze across the hallway, which appeared to only consist of about a million closed doors.

But there was one that was open. And from what she could see, it was a bathroom. A perfect place to hide out for a little while.

Arturia kicked off her heels, picking them up before running to the bathroom barefoot. After stepping inside, she slammed the door shut, leaning against it and listening to make sure that he hadn't followed her.

She listened for a couple of seconds. Once she deemed the coast clear and Gilgamesh-free, she exhaled shakily, turning to the gilded mirror. Arturia pressed her hands onto the cold marble surface of the sink, leaning forward to look at her reflection.

Her make-up was slightly smeared, and the dark circles around her eyes were once again visible. Growling in frustration, she twisted the intricately-carved faucet and splashed a jet of cold water in her face.

After wiping her face with a fluffy towel, she looked around the bathroom, What was most likely an enormous tub with a beige shower curtain obscuring it from her view. The fanciest toilet she had ever seen in her life.

Arturia turned back to the tub, eyes narrowing as her gaze lingered on it. Maybe there was a window behind that curtain. A window that she could use to climb to blissful freedom. Eyes widening in hope, she flung open the curtain with unnatural gusto, letting out a hum of satisfaction as she saw that there was indeed a window there. Leaning forward and already fantasizing about wrenching it open and leaping out of it with a feline-esque grace that she didn't possess, her plans were interrupted by a slightly-smug voice. "Nice to see you here, Arturia."

She almost had a heart attack, double-taking as she saw who had been occupying the tub the entire time. "Diarmuid?"

"The one and only." Said classmate spread his arms, grinning impishly at her. He was still wearing his prom outfit, scarlet rose protruding from his breast pocket, knees tucked into his chest as he sat against the walls of the tub. "What brings you to this humble place, my dear?"

She gave him a dubious look, saying simply, "I could ask you the same question."

"Well, we both have plenty of time to clear up any misunderstandings and there's a lot of room in here, so why don't you take a seat?" Diarmuid patted the spot across from him.

Arturia eyed him warily, before remembering that he was the only sober person she had seen in the last half an hour. She complied, easing herself down into the tub and smoothing her skirt over her legs.

"So, where's your boyfriend?" he asked curiously, tone light and inquisitive.

She scowled at the unpleasant thought. "He is _not_ my boyfriend."

"Seriously? He's been telling everyone that." Diarmuid cleared his throat, mimicking in a falsetto voice, "Hey guys! Guess who's dating Arturia Pendragon? Man, she's totally falling for me! She was practically_ drooling _when she told me that she wanted to go to the prom as my queen."

"That little bastard," she grumbled under her breath. "That's not what happened."

"So why did you say yes?"

Arturia let out a huff of frustration. "Because I didn't have any other _choice_. He's been tagging along with me for the past six months, and you know, I thought that he was just doing a dare for one of his buddies, so I never thought much into it. Then, two weeks ago, on our way to calculus, he whips out an ukulele out of nowhere and starts singing about how he loves me as much as he loves goat cheese and wants to go to the prom with me." Diarmuid let out a snort. "Everyone was staring and some freshman sidekick of his pulled out his video camera and starting video-taping it, so I panicked and told him yes."

"Well, _that_ I can believe." He stifled a laugh. "I'm guessing you're not having fun?"

She groaned. "I didn't think that it would be this bad. But then again, what was I supposed to expect from something like this?"

Their laughter died down to a comfortable silence, before Arturia asked, "So what's up with you? Where's Sola?"

His face darkened considerably, and he chuckled bitterly. "In the basement, making out with Kayneth."

She widened her eyes in surprise. "Well, aren't you gonna to do something about it?"

He shrugged, his lips pursed. "Honestly? I don't really care. I've known that she's been seeing him behind my back for…what? A couple of months now? I don't even get why I dated her in the first place. Break-ups are a pain in the ass, so I never bothered with it."

"Well, you could have at least asked someone else to prom." She folded her arms across her chest. "If you want to know what_ I_ think, you could have gotten any other girl you wanted."

"Including you?" he quipped, prompting an awkward moment of silence. He braced his hands in surrender, laughing. "Just kidding.

"You were planning to escape, right?" Diarmuid changed the subject, standing up and dusting off his pants. He held his hand out to her. "Well, I've decided to become your accomplice for the night. Your partner-in-crime. The Batman to your Robin."

After shaking her head and failing to suppress a smile, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Alright, fine. We have a deal."

"Excellent!" He peeked out the window, frowning. "Well, it's quite the distance to the ground, so you probably shouldn't jump unless you want to become fertilizer for the personal garden of Kirei Kotomine…so we're going to think of another, just as brilliant strategy."

"This is going to be absolutely disgusting, isn't it?" she offered up, uneasily studying his facial expression.

"Depends on what your definition of disgusting is," he finally said, hopping out of the tub and lifting off the cover of what looked like a laundry hamper. "Great! Kirei Kotomine is like any other senior and therefore a slob." He grinned triumphantly, lifting it up slightly to show her the contents of the hamper- piles upon piles of dirty clothes."

"Wait, so-"

"We'll fashion his Wonder Woman boxers into a rope, tie it to the faucet, and throw it out of the window. I'll climb down first, and then you can go. I happen to be sort of chivalrous, so if you fall, I'll be there to catch you." Noticing the dubious look on her face, he asked tentatively, "You do believe me, right?"

"Um, I'll take the chance." She nodded, hesitating before saying, "But I refuse to touch those boxers any more than I have to."

He knelt down and sighed dramatically, fishing through the pile of clothes and finding two pairs of boxers, tying them together. "Fair enough. It seems like Batman will be doing most of the work after all."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't complain, figuring that she should be grateful that he was willing to help her out.

It felt a little weird, to be in such quarters of Diarmuid, whom she had had a very short history with. The two had been lab partners sophomore year for a semester, and in the same homeroom junior year, but had never found the time to really talk to each other much. The extent of their relationship was saying hi to each other in the hallways, and she probably wouldn't even consider him a friend. Just a guy who seemed nice enough but was the boyfriend of someone she wasn't really fond of and tended to stay under the radar.

"All done," he announced ten minutes later, brandishing the underwear-rope at her. Diarmuid slipped off his shoes and handed them to her as he climbed back into the bathtub. "Would you mind throwing these out of the window for me? You might want to the same thing with yours."

Arturia nodded, climbing out of the tub to snatch her high heels from where she had left them near the sink as he leaned over to tie the end of the rope to the head of the faucet. She wrenched open the window, peeking her head out and breathing the cool night air, before tossing their shoes out, hearing a soft thud as they hit the dewy grass.

"Alright, the underwear-rope is all ready to go. Stage one of operation 'sneak out of your after-prom party with temporary accomplice' complete." He gave her a charming wink, tossing the rope out of the window. It swung uncertainly for a couple of moments, before hanging limp.

"Here I go," he announced, nimbly ducking under the window's broad frame and clinging to the rope. After shuffling down it unsteadily for a couple of feet, he suddenly let out a joyful hoot and slid down the rope in one go, landing on the ground softly. He cupped his hands to his mouth, shouting, "Come on, Robin!"

Arturia rolled her eyes, mimicking his movements and wrapping her limbs around the frail rope. She was aware that she was about twenty feet above the ground, and suddenly felt queasy and uncertain about their crazy operation.

Shut up, Arturia, she told herself. It's not the time to chicken out.

Inhaling shakily, she loosened her grip and relaxed, allowing herself to slide down the rope at breakneck speed- a feeling that was a lot more exhilarating than she had first anticipated.

Two strong arms were wrapped around her torso, and Diarmuid caught her, his grip hiking up her thin dress slightly before he gently placed her on the ground. He smiled at her, clapping her on the shoulder. "Fun, right?"

All she could do was nod, still breathless.

The two of them stared at each other, before bursting into laughter. It was a certain bubbly feeling in her chest, something that could only be expressed by loud, undignified guffaws that pierced through the chilly spring night.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Diarmuid asked after the laughter had finally died down.

"What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow at him, plunging a hand into her purse. "I'll just call my mom, and get her to pick me up-"

Arturia stopped, her fingers desperately sifting through the contents of the small bag, unable to find the cold metal. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the triumphant-looking boy. "Okay, fine. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, how about we make a deal? If you go out for a late-night drink with me, I'll give you a ride home." He leaned towards her. "How about it, Robin?"

"A drink?" She wrinkled her nose.

"Non-alcoholic, of course. I don't drink." He laughed, tousling her hair. "What kind of guy do you think I am? There's just a small café I particularly like and want to share with you. And don't treat this like it's nothing. It's not every day that I take a sort of female friend to my happy place."

"I'm honored, sort of male friend."

Diarmuid let out a snort. "Haha. Very funny."

After pretending that they were ninjas and crawling through a small thicket, avoiding thorny plants, they found the front yard of Kotomine's mansion, where the limousine she, Gilgamesh, and his cronies had arrived in, as well as an assortment of other vehicles.

Arturia followed her accomplice to a light blue minivan with a supermarket logo spray-painted onto the side. "So, where did you get this piece of garbage from anyways?"

"Don't insult the Lancer. Say hello to the Lancer and beg his holiness for forgiveness." He crossed his arms, looking at very seriously. "Go on."

"Sorry," she muttered under her breath. "I apologize for offending you, Lancer. I was a fool to not notice your beauty immediately and pray that you will not send me to, um...hell?"

"Your apology is accepted." Diarmuid opened the passenger door, patting the seat. "He has permitted you to sit in his holy bowels."

"When you put it that way…" Nevertheless, she climbed in, easing herself into the seat.

Within moments, he had started the car with a loud clatter, and they pulled out of the driveway and started cruising down the road.

"Do you mind if we listen to classical music?" he suddenly asked as he drove, one hand on the wheel, whizzing past dark patches of forest and streetlights.

"Go ahead."

He smiled once again and leaned forward once again, pushing a button with the tip of his index finger. Lively dance music filled her ears, notes mingling together to create a beautiful melody that tickled her ears. It was familiar; her brow furrowing in concentration as she struggled to remember where she had heard it before.

"Mozart 378?" she said, accidentally voicing her thoughts out loud.

Diarmuid momentarily took his eyes off the road and glanced at her, amber eyes widening slightly in surprise, before his lips curled into a smile. "Very good. I'm impressed, Arturia."

"My mom's a music teacher." She shrugged dismissively.

"Really?" he asked excitedly, swerving violently to the right in order to avoid a SUV and earning himself a loud honk from a nearby vehicle. The minivan lurched forward, throwing the two into the tight embrace of their seat-belts. "What does she teach?"

Still feeling the after-effects of his terrible driving (nausea and a jolting sensation in her stomach), she managed to choke out, "Violin. But she's also pretty familiar with the viola and cello. She teaches a quartet for fun too, and they're playing that song now, so I hear it sometimes."

"That's amazing!" He beamed at her. "So what do you think of it?"

"The piece? Well, I have a lot of respect for Mozart- no, that's an understatement. I think he's a genius. And 378 happens to be no exception, so yeah...I really enjoy listening to it," she finished weakly, hoping that she didn't sound or look terrifically stupid.

However, Diarmuid merely nodded, seemingly intrigued. He thought about it for a moment, and a certain comfortable silence filled the minivan before his face lit up and he asked, "So you're in the school orchestra, right?"

She shook her head. "No, I take art. And I don't play an instrument, either, if that's what you're trying to ask."

He frowned, his forehead wrinkling slightly in a way that she couldn't help but notice, but later felt like a creep for doing so. "Why not?"

"Well, I've tried, but I'm just not that musical."

Diarmuid pondered this, before stifling a laugh, explaining, "Sorry, it's just that you seem like the type that would." Upon noticing her confused expression, he elaborated, "You know, the quiet and independent and mysterious type."

She stuck her tongue out at him, pointing out accusatively, "I think you're just trying to come up with a substitute for 'nerd'. And news flash- it's not really working."

He laughed, lifting a hand off the wheel for a moment to brace it in surrender. "Okay, okay, just cut me some slack! I was trying to be nice, Ms. Ice Queen."

"What did you just call me?" She fumed, wanting to punch him in the face to wipe that stupid, smug smirk on his face.

After his laughter died down, he said thoughtfully, "Hm...how to put this in a better way? Well, I guess you don't have a lot of friends, so I figured that you were the kind of person who spenss her time wallowing in her angst out through dark and depressing music. You're just kind of...mysterious. There just aren't that many people who know you that well. I guess that's why Gilgamesh started bothering you- he doesn't like it when there are things he can't figure out."

Arturia frowned as he pulled into the parking lot of a dimly-lit café that was nearly deserted. "I think we're getting something mixed up here. One, I'm not emo. Two, I'm not Asian. Three, I actually do have friends. You know, Iri and Maiya, right? And I guess Kiritsugu and I are sort of friends when he isn't being an asshole. And four, Gilgamesh isn't that complex. There are about thirteen girls he likes- it's just that he thought that I'd be the easiest one to pressure into going to prom with him."

Diarmuid didn't respond, pulling the keys out of the incognition and kicking open the minivan door, jogging to the other side of the vehicle. He opened the passenger door and helped her down, holding her hand longer than she thought was necessary as he led her to the café.

A crooked sign read "Mildred's" in robin-egg's blue lettering that seemed like it was fading into the wood, Arturia observed as he pushed open the door, a rusty bell hanging on the door jangled softly.

There was no other way to describe the café other than quirky. The tables were round and tiny, painted with murals of anything from antelope prancing through dry plains to magenta and neon green music notes. Chairs were mismatched; banana yellow matchbox chairs and fire engine red wooden bar stools and creaky rocking chairs sitting side by side. Old photographs lined the walls, as well as dusty records, paintings, license plates, and strangely, what appeared to be the head of a buffalo.

As Arturia was just gaping at the overwhelmingness of it all, a bored-looking young man who was dusting glasses at the bar near the back of the establishment noticed the two, brown eyes lighting up. He angled his body behind him, and shouted, "Hey, guys! Diarmuid's back!"

A girl who was sitting near where Arturia and Diarmuid were standing looked at the man reproachfully, taking a swig of her drink before slapping a few bills down on her table and drunkenly staggering out the door.

The young man paid no mind to this, however, running from out behind the counter to give her sort of male friend a clap on the shoulder. "How you been, old buddy?"

"Just fine." Diarmuid grinned sheepishly, running his fingers through his dark hair. "What about you?"

"Never mind me!" the man scolded. "Not showing up for two weeks and then coming here at eleven pm without telling us."

"Sorry, man. Finals are pretty crazy, you know."

"Today's your prom, isn't it? So why aren't you getting drunk and partying like crazy with your buddies? Well, I guess I was right when I said that you really aren't like most eighteen-year-old guys." He shook his head, sighing ruefully. His eyes widened once he noticed Arturia. "So, is this the girlfriend you've been telling me about? She's a real looker, I'll tell you that!"

Diarmuid shook his head. "Nah, my girlfriend sort of dumped me without really explaining anything. I'm here with Arturia since she's my accomplice and fellow after-prom party escapee. I thought that since I was dropping her off at her house anyways and she had some time before her curfew, I'd just take her here."

"Since when do you have to escape an after-prom party?" The man scratched his head, obviously puzzled.

"It's a long story." Diarmuid sighed, before gesturing to Arturia. "Where are my manners? Arturia, this is my buddy Antonio. Antonio, this is my sort of female friend Arturia."

"Pleased to meet ya, hon!" He winked at her, before ushering them to a table near the corner and whipping a pen and a pad of paper from his apron as they eased into their chairs. "Now what'll it be, cutie pies?"

She tentatively opened the menu, scanning the choices as Diarmuid ordered for himself. "Just the usual. I'm in the need for some comfort food tonight."

"Coming right up." He scrawled something on the paper, turning to Arturia. "And you, my dear?"

"Um...an Earl Grey tea and a slice of marble cheesecake, please."

"Alright, be back in a few minutes!" Antonio flashed a dazzling smile at the two, before bustling away and disappearing behind a green checkered curtain.

"So, you have a bit of a sweet tooth, huh?" Diarmuid leaned forward, resting his chin on the back of his hand and studying her face carefully. "Who would have guessed?"

She shrugged. "Sort of. I'm just craving chocolate since all I really ate today were those cheese cubes. Anyways, if you're worried that it'll be expensive, I'll just pay for it-"

"Don't worry about it. I'll say this again- what kind of guy do you think I am? Do you honestly think I'd make a lady pay for her meal when I dragged her here in the first place?" He gave a mock offended look. "Rude. I'm not broke, you know."

Arturia gave him a long look. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Um, alright then-"

"Here we are!" Antonio called out in a singsong voice, poking his head out of the kitchen and balancing a plastic tray in each calloused hand. He breezed his way over to the table, gingerly placing the dishes down before clapping his hands, absolutely beaming. "Alright, you two! Enjoy!"

"Thanks." Arturia gave him a small smile, picking up her cup and breathing in the aroma of her tea. She took a sip of the hot drink, unable to suppress a hum of satisfaction at the tangy flavor that lingered on her tongue.

"Cheers!" Diarmuid lifted a glass of lemon iced tea in her direction, grinning, before taking a gulp.

"So what's your 'usual?'" In an attempt to make some sort of small talk, she gestured to the cut-in-half sandwich that sat pristinely on a checkered platter.

"Oh, this? Vegetarian chickpea salad." He picked up a half and bit into it, sighing in relief at the taste. "It's like the entire food pyramid packed into a single sandwich. How could you ask for more?"

"So I'm assuming that you're a health nut?" She arched an eyebrow at him, using the side of her fork to pick up a bit of the creamy cheesecake, putting in her mouth and savoring the light notes of the chocolate, crumbled graham crackers that lined the bottom, and the soft cheese. "Oh God, this is amazing."

"What did I tell you?" He grinned, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Mildred's is the best for late-night snacks. And they're open until three, so if you ever need to escape another boyfriend some time, make sure to come find me!"

"If only for the cheesecake," Arturia muttered under her breath, stifling a snicker at the sight of his mock-pout.

He let out a high, clear laugh, before pointed out, "See, Arturia, you're actually really funny. If you acted this way around everyone, you'd be really popular."

She didn't really know how to respond, so she just stayed quiet, avoiding his patronizing gaze and continuing to shovel cheesecake into her mouth.

"So, I've made it my mission to get to know Arturia Pendragon, valedictorian-to-be and writer extraordinaire, better," Diarmuid announced. "And since I figured that it would take the next five years of my life to do without any special method...I've decided to take the direct approach."

"Which is?" She took a sip of her tea, giving him a skeptical look.

"Twenty questions."

Arturia stared blankly at him. "...okay."

"First question." He pondered this for a moment. "What's your favorite classic novel?"

"Of Mice and Men."

"Excellent choice. Next...favorite music group?"

"Three Days Grace."

"Cool. Hm..."

It went on like this, with him thinking of some question for her to answer, most of which she could answer in a heartbeat.

Until question number twenty. "Any weird fetishes?"

"Fetishes?" she repeated incredulously, before thinking hard about this. "Um, glasses, I guess? I've never really thought about that."

"I should get a pair then," he joked, pretending to push a pair of imaginary glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I have crappy eyesight, and I don't really like my contacts anyways, plus if I get a chance to turn you on..."

"Quit trying to flirt with me." Arturia made a face at him, glancing at the clock and realizing that it was a quarter after twelve and her mom would leave the house to pick her up from the party. "Crap, we better leave. My mom's going to freak out if she finds that I'm not at Kotomine's party."

"Time flies when you're having fun," Diarmuid quipped good-naturedly, taking out his wallet and placing a few bills on the table, before calling out in a louder voice, "Antonio! We gotta get going now! If this isn't enough, just put it on my tab!"

Without waiting for a reply, he stood up and yanked her out out of her seat, dragging her out of the café before she could hear the bell jangle. He lifted her into the passenger seat, disappearing from her view and climbing into the driver's seat within seconds. "Address, milady?"

"45 Marion Drive-"

"Oh, you live in Westbury? That's just a couple of minutes from here. A friend of mine lives there, so I should be able to find it pretty easily." He started the engine, taking off and cutting across the path of a run-down Honda. "So what did you think of tonight?"

"It was cool, I guess." Arturia shrugged, feeling nauseous from his driving already. She briefly wondered how he had managed to get his hands on a driver's license. "You're a lot nicer than I thought."

"You're a lot easier to talk to than I thought." In the darkness, she thought she saw a faint smile grace his lips. "Well, people _are_ always full of surprises. I'm glad that you had fun, though. Sure beats hiding from your drunk date, huh?"

She nodded, even though she was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to notice the slight motion.

"You have to admit that the underwear thing was pretty funny. I wonder what Kirei's gonna think when he sees his boxers hanging out of his bathroom window. We should have set up a camera while we were at it. Arturia and Diarmuid- special pranking services. We could have used it to blackmail him into being our slaves or something."

He continued to rattle on and on about what had happened with gusto and a seemingly limitless supply of energy as she merely listened, half-asleep. She leaned against the minivan door, drifting into semi-consciousness as she allowed herself to succumb to her exhaustion.

Too soon, someone was prodding her arm with unnecessary force. "Hey! Arturia! Wake up!"

She groggily sat up, eyelids still heavy, and wiped the drool that was pooling on the edge of her mouth with her arm. "Are we lost or something?"

"I'll say this for the third time- what kind of guy do you think I am? This is your house, right?" He pointed to the house outside of his window, a streetlight softly illuminating it.

Arturia leaned over him, and upon recognizing the tree in her front yard, nodded. "Thanks for the ride, Diarmuid."

"No problem, princess," he responded, sounding amused and climbing out of his minivan.

She opened the passenger door and hopped out, wobbling on her heels for a moment before regaining her balance. Walking around the minivan and approaching her yard, she was about to turn around to bid him good-bye when he thrust something into her hand.

A wrinkled piece of blue paper. She stared blankly at it, before squinting to the read the small print. A number scrawled in black pen, and a smiley face drawn underneath. After groggily gaping at it for a second too long, she looked up, startled to see his retreating back.

She lunged forward, tugging on the back of his shirt. "Diarmuid, I-"

He whirled around and kissed her, pressing his lips gently against hers. She was too shocked and exhausted to respond, her eyes wide open in surprise. Once she had fully registered what had just happened, he had climbed into his minivan and was driving away.

Arturia couldn't even move, watching as the headlights twinkled out of sight. She touched her still-tingling lips, before shaking her head and grumbling under her breath, "I must be hallucinating."


End file.
